Knowsley Chamber

Industry sector: Network Build, Chamber of Commerce

Location: Knowsley

Services: Fixed Wireless Access Network, Superfast broadband

The Economic Picture on Broadband Connectivity was Mixed

The Liverpool City Region in many ways is integrated but also diverse. For Knowsley, our strengths are manufacturing; particularly the automotive industry based around Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant and surrounding cluster of components manufacturers.

That said, we also have a thriving visitor economy with the region’s largest paying visitor attraction, Knowsley Safari Park. Strategically located between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester our roads are well known for their connectivity to other regions as well as the close proximity to the port.

With some 3,500 businesses based here, the majority of which are SMEs, we have huge potential to capture and capitalise on the growth sectors defined in the city region’s strategy. However, the economic picture on Broadband connectivity is mixed. We rank fourth of second tier city regions in superfast broadband availability and average download speed.

Working Closely with the Chamber to Build a Superfast Network

It is within this context that Knowsley Chamber is delighted to confirm that we have been working with ITS Technology Group since 2013. Based on research undertaken at that time as part of forming our ‘Knowsley Digital Strategy for Inclusion’, we found that huge numbers of SMEs did not have access to the Broadband capacity or bandwidth they required. The Managing Director of one business explained that he had to “Run his accounts systems from his home address as the office system was simply not robust during office hours”.

The Government produced a paper in 2015, acknowledging that the promotion of Broadband was essential in order to engage and attract SMEs to enhance their digital capacity.

Based on this evidence, ITS Technology Group have worked with us to define the target areas. They have undertaken a strong awareness and marketing campaign and we have promoted their offer through the Chamber’s e-newsletters, case studies and testimonials. Using the “features and benefits” model, we have focused on their offer which is commercially and competitively priced, and, unlike many other providers in the sector, the contractual terms are flexible and economical for the SME market.

It is widely acknowledged that access to broadband can lead to a large number of business benefits. At all times the team at ITS have been fully appreciative of this fact and flexible to work with the needs of their customer base, ie. The SME business community. Indeed, one of the companies that has taken up a contract with ITS Technology Group is a non-executive Director on the Chamber Board. He is highly complementary about the Broadband service, which now helps him to run a very large transport and logistics company.

Supporting Local Businesses

ITS Technology Group quickly established a presence and brand in the market place. They evidence their Broadband solutions through case studies. They explain their offer to their customers in clear and explicit terms, establishing quite quickly how their services can enhance efficiency, help to innovate, and increase capacity so that their customers can exploit commercial opportunities.